Day, Night, and the Hours in Between
by DearlyBeloved-13
Summary: 100.Theme.Writer's.Challenge. Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.
1. Test

_AN- Hi, guys! FINALLY!! I'm posting something! I'm very excited. I haven't posted anything in a while. Take that, writer's block! Anyway, this is for the _100 Theme Writer's Challenge_. X3 The summary I used is actually a quote by William DementI found interesting. :D_

_Anyway, this is the first Soul Eater story that I'm posting (I'm writing several other but I haven't finished them yet ^^;; ) So please enjoy and review!! 8D_

**Disclaimer- don't own the awesome couple, Soul and Maka!**

77/100- Test

Soul had always thought he knew Maka pretty well, considering they had been living together for a couple of months now.

He knew that when there was a big test the next day, Maka would settle with having cereal for dinner.

He knew that when she felt particularly insecure, she slept with her door unlocked, as if beckoning him to come in during the night (and he did a couple of times, merely to offer her comfort- nothing else. He made sure to leave before she woke up.)

He knew she loved eating apples but disliked drinking apple juice.

She liked to click her pens continuously - especially when she's nervous - but never notices.

Aside from reading romance novels, she likes to read about mythology.

When she eats skittles, she likes to eat all the red, then all the green, then all the purple, and so on.

He knew that she usually prefers comfort over style because "you never know when there's going to be the need to battle!"

He also knew that she wasn't a bad artist herself. (He had seen a few sketches lying around. They weren't that bad.)

And the list could go on and on, really. Soul thought he had a pretty good grasp on Maka's personality and her odd little quirks.

But when she came out of her bedroom and into their living room (where he had been trying to watch some television), he felt like he was staring at a complete stranger.

His jaw dropped in a very uncool way, and his eyes roamed her body involuntarily (or so he would always claim).

Maka's light hair was loose (_and beautiful_) and fell over her bare shoulders. She was wearing just enough make up to bring out her green eyes (_as if they didn't stand out before_) but still manage to look natural. The black dress hugged her hips nicely, going down to maybe mid-thigh; it was smooth (and looked _stunning_ on her, but he'd _never_ admit to having ever thought that) and – _was that a bust he saw there_?

He quickly averted his eyes, completely looking away when he felt his face grow hot. This was not cool!

"M-maka, what are you-"

"Oh, Soul," she purred. _Purred_ for God's sake! What the hell was going on!?

He tried to pretend not to notice as she sauntered her way to him, swaying her hips hypnotically. She got pretty hard to ignore, however, when she went and sat on his lap.

_What the hell!?_

"Maka, are you out of your mind?" he choked out, getting more and more flustered by the second.

"What's wrong, Soul?" she asked innocently, tracing lazy patterns on his chest with her index finger. He tried to press himself further back into the couch to create some space between them, but she only scoot closer to him.

"Maka," he forced out, trying to not get distracted by that damn finger. He grabbed her wrists so that she would stop doing that. "I think you might have a fever or somethin'. Why don't you change into something more – er – comfortable and go to sle—"

"Silly Soul," she giggled, freeing her wrists from his grasp. She closed her eyes halfway, watching him with a look so powerful, Soul felt as though the world around them disappeared. "I know perfectly well what I'm doing."

_I really doubt that_, he couldn't help but think. He tried pushing her away gently. Even though she was acting (_completely insane, without thinking, totally irrational, just plain crazy, and totally hot and beautiful and just plain cute_…) weird, he didn't want to hurt her.

"Maka, I have no damn clue what's gotten into your head, but whatever it is has got to stop. We can't do this."

"Why not?"

He frowned and shook his head. "You'll regret it, you know…doing this so suddenly and without thinking. This is really out of the blue."

_Oh no… __Please don't look at me like that, with those innocent green eyes and glossy, pouty lips… I can't stand the puppy-dog look…Dammit! Is she gonna cry? No, please, don't cry… I beg you…_

"You don't like me?" she asked feebly, lowering her head so her bangs covered her eyes.

He felt his own grow wide. "I-It's not like that! I like you! No – wait! N-not like that! I mean, you're my master! We're partners; technician and weapon. So I have to like you. But not that I'm f-forcing myself to like you! That's not what I meant! I just – I'm not ready! I'm not sure I like you that way. Not that I'm thinking about you that way at all!"

_DUDE! You're rambling! Shut up! Not cool._

He hung his head dejectedly, blushing like mad. He felt very foolish, and he wished Maka would just get off his lap already.

"Soul, look at me." Her sudden change of voice from _cough_seductive_cough _to gentle made him look up. Rather than seeing an angry or hurt expression like he expected, he saw her face had melted into a kind smile.

"I know what you mean," Here, she backs off a little, but doesn't get off his lap. "And I want to apologize."

"…Eh?"

She grinned. "I never actually wanted to… ya know… do anything. I was just testing you."

Soul felt his eyebrow twitch.

"A…test?"

Maybe he didn't know her as well as he thought he did, after all.

Maka nodded. "You're a good guy, Soul. A gentleman. I'm glad I got such a great partner."

Despite his annoyance at being tricked, he couldn't help but feel… flattered?

"Where did you learn to act like that anyway?" he asked uncomfortably, trying to switch the subject off of him.

"I grew up around a lot of flirting women because of the idiot called my Papa." Soul nodded, now understanding. "I'm glad you're not like him- trying to woo whoever flirts with him." _And sometimes the ones that don't_, she added mentally.

Soul bit his lip lightly, before returning to his cool sarcastic self. "Of course I'm not like that dumbass. Besides, who'd flirt with a girl that's as flat as a boa-"

He just _knew_ it was coming, but her Maka-chops always hurt like hell.

Well, at least he knew her enough to know when she'd hit him. Her buttons were so easy to push.

He smiled at her angry face. She relaxed and grinned back.

"Hey, Maka," he said suddenly, smirking.

She raised an eyebrow, instantly wary of that smirk. "Yeah?"

"Could you get off my lap?"

She blushed heavily, realizing they were still in a rather compromising position. "Ah- right."

"How long were you planning to stay there?" he continued taunting, waggling his eyebrows. "I bet you wanted to sit there all day!"

"Sh-shut up!"

"I bet you're enjoying this!"

"You know what? I take back what I said earlier. You suck."

He cracked up, then, "Maka."

"What?"

"You're still on my lap."

She practically jumped off of him, only causing him to howl with laughter. "I'm going to change into something more comfortable and then we can watch a movie," she humph-ed and stalked away.

His chuckles finally dying down, Soul flipped through the channels on TV, trying to see if there was anything worth watching. His mind, however, had different ideas. He couldn't help it as his thoughts drifted and he wondered if he and Maka would ever reach a point in their life where they would actually be doing _that_…

Maka walked back into the living room, now dressed in short shorts and a t-shirt. She looked her weapon strangely. "Soul, why is your nose bleeding?"

He blushed.

Well, damn. Not cool.

**x.X.x**

_AN- Yay! Finished!  
I wasn't very sure about the ending; it just kinda wrote itself. ^^;  
Anyway, I hope you all like this! I enjoyed writing it! Oh, and if anyone reading this likes Death Note, I've also written a few of these 100 Themes under that fandom. Check them out if you have a chance! ;D_

_Thanks for reading and review!! 8D_


	2. Memory

AN- Hello, all! Thanks for the reading and, in two people's cases, reviewing last chapter! It's greatly appreciated! :D And, WOW, a second update so quickly!? Very surprising, for me, anyway. Well, I guess I'm on a roll! Let's see how long it lasts this time.

Anyway, I guess you could say this is slightly AU, considering I totally made up everyone's history. XD They are all still weapon and meister, except they all have different pasts, because I felt like it and because I know close to nothing about Soul's history n.n;

Oh yes, I wrote this in Notepad instead of Microsoft like I usually do (I'm on my aunt's laptop and she doesn't have Microsoft. o.o) so if I made any errors, please tell me. My eyes are tired and I'd probably skip over some mistakes if I went over it again.  
Please enjoy and reviewww!! 8D

Disclaimer- Don't own these amazing characters!!

11/100- Memory.

Soul sighed, staring up at the ceiling with a nostalgic smile.

Lately, Maka had been finding a lot of photo albums stuffed in the back of her closet. Looking through the pictures together had left Soul open to an onslaught of memories; some were good, others not as much, but each always left him with a feeling of melancholic contentment.

At the moment, the teenage-weapon was lying in his bed, a goofy smile on his face. Now that he looked back on it, he had the same loyalty to Maka back then as much as he did now. It was a wonder, really, considering how many boys at that age thought that girls have the "cooties".

Weird how things change through time, huh?

He could still remember the days where a simple balloon could entertain them for hours on end, simply by chasing it around in circles, until either one (usually Maka) got tired or when the balloon popped. When the latter did occur, it usually ended with tears (again, Maka. Not him. He was too cool to cry for a silly balloon, even back then. Cough.)

He laughed fondly at the times when Maka would want to play pretend, and she'd make him be the 'Papa' of their family of stuffed animals. He didn't think it was fair that Maka's real Papa took pictures of both of them when they played that. Soul didn't know what he was getting himself into! It's not like Spirit bothered to explain that he WASN'T a big, tough guy when he pushed the stroller filled with stuffed rabbits like Maka had fooled him into believing. Damn those female persuasive and intuitive skills that came WAY too early for them in life!

His scowling broke off when he cracked up, recalling another picture that Spirit had snapped at just the right moment. It included Maka rubbing her teary eyes as Black Star pulled her hair, Soul prowling in the background getting ready to pounce on the energetic boy for daring to hurt Maka! Strangely enough, simply seeing the picture had reminded him of that day. He remembered getting angry when he heard Maka crying and saw Black Star pulling one of her famous pig-tails. He remembered soaring through the air tackling the blue-haired boy. With a snort of amusement, he also recalled how the quiet Tsubaki had been standing on the sidelines, unsure of what to do when the boys started fighting, before she went and gave Maka a hug.  
They had all been very young when this happened, and yet, it seemed like not much had changed. Although Maka didn't cry THAT easily anymore, Black Star still strived for attention, Soul was still protective of Maka (Yes, he admitted it. But that doesn't change the fact he was ready to die for her if he needed to.), and Tsubaki was still the peaceful, comforting one.

He could still remember the time where he, Maka, Black Star, and Tsubaki went out to play and met Kid, Liz, and Patti for the first time. He had pointed and laughed when Kid practically had a melt down after Black Star very loudly pointed out the three, white stripes in his black hair. Then he remembered with a wince how he had gotten a "MAKA-CHOP!" for making the situation worse. Even Maka's hits still hadn't changed.

That day, all of them had gotten some form of ice cream, whether it be a popsicle or an ice cream cone. He had dropped his own after Black Star shoved him rather roughly. He tried to play it off cooly, his nine-year-old self not wanting to appear lame. But, he had REALLY wanted some ice cream... Maka saw through him, apparently, and insisted that she really didn't want anymore of her ice cream and for him to eat it. It would really be such a waste if she had to throw it away without anyone being able to enjoy it. Soul had taken it then, muttering something about how he "was just eating it because there were kids in the world who would long to have an ice cream like this one."

Her hidden ways of helping him still hadn't changed, over all these years. Maka was usually better at disguising her concern, he himself not even noticing that she had helped him until after she had left to do whatever girls did.

Now that he thought about it, they were both very protective of each other. They both always freaked out when one was hurt in any way, shape, or form.

With a toothy grin, he remembered all those times his mother scolded him after he beat up some other kids for destroying Maka's sandcastle in the sandbox. Or when they grew a little older, and some girls began to get interested in him, Maka was there, holding his hand and pretending to be his girlfriend to easily make them, all the fake, shallow girls obviously looking for a fling, go away.

They were always there for each other, supporting the other through the good and, sadly, the bad.

His smile wilted and his happy mood sobered.

Unbidden images of that day came to his mind; three years ago when they were both thirteen, in the dreary hospital hallway. It was eerily empty as the two teenagers embraced, devastated by the news of Soul's mother's death. Growing up together, Maka had also come to think of her as her own Mother. It was hard not to really, since Soul's mother was really very kind and gentle. It had also become easier for Maka since her own mother was traveling across the world, and she rarely got to see her.

This was the only time Soul could remember losing control of his emotions and actually allowing himself to be comforted by someone else. He had hugged her very tightly, burying his face into the crook of her neck, letting the river of tears flow from his eyes. He was silent, trembling, and broken as he felt Maka's own tears seep through his shirt. He could remember hearing faintly the rain hitting the hospital window, almost like the impatient tapping of fingers. The roads were slippery - or so he was told - and that was what had caused his mother to loose control of her car, leading to the crash and, eventually, her death.

Her passing away had taken a huge blow to Soul's heart. It took time and a lot of support from his friends, namely Maka and Black Star, for some reason, but he got over it; he still remembers his lovely mother fondly and sort of sadly, but he could honestly say that he could live happily now.

He jerked up in bed suddenly, deciding that he had enough of Memory Lane for today. Just as he was rubbing the tears away from his eyes, there came a knock and his door opened.

He sniffed in what he hoped was an inconspicous manner as he looked up at Maka, staring at her tilted head and questioning green eyes.

"What is it?" Soul asked in what he hoped was a cool, non-chalant way.

The blonde-haired girl raised an eyebrow, but didn't question him. "Dinner's ready."

He nodded. "I'll be right there," he said.

She grinned and skipped out of his room.

"Ne, Maka, what did you cook for dinner tonight?" Soul could hear Blaire ask. There was a small moment of silence in which he presumed Maka was showing the cat-witch their meal. Then he heard, "Nyah, Blaire thought Maka-chan didn't like salmon!"

His eyes widened slightly and, after a few seconds of shocked silence, he couldn't help but smirk.

There it was again; that damned intuiton skill all women seemed to have.

He opened his door, smug grin still in place.

"Soul, I made your favorite plate tonight!" Maka exclamed brightly.

"...Thanks, Maka," he said sincerely, stuffing his hands into his pocket and allowing his smirk to melt into a real smile.

And of course, using that female skill of hers, she knew exactly what Soul was referring to. "Anytime, Soul, anytime." 


	3. Yeah, I AM challenging you!

_AN- Hey, guys. WOW. ANOTHER story. This has to be breaking a record for me, dudes. Seriously. I wrote THREE stories today. But I'm only posting one because I wanna see if you people review… No reviews last chapter. T^T I worked really hard on the last chapter so I'd like some feedback. ^^;_

_Anyway, I wrote this one during math class so it might be sucky. XD I'll post the other story tomorrow. *coughReviewcough* Hehe, enjoy!_

**Disclaimer- eh, you know the drill. C:**

74/100- Are you challenging me?

Black Star just couldn't believe his ears. "_You_ are challenging _me_?"

Patti clapped and giggled. "Yesh!"

The blue-haired meister laughed loudly, throwing his head back. "You'll never beat me! I'll clean the floor with you."

"Oi, what's going on?" Soul asked as he and Maka approached their friends.

Black Star and Patti were standing, facing each other; Tsubaki stood behind her meister, biting her lip nervously while Kid and Liz stood calmly behind Patti.

"Soul, my best buddy!" Black Star exclaimed, slapping the weapon on the back rather harshly (but that's just how Black Star rolled). "Here, stand next to me and – " he pushed Soul into the indicated position "- make sure Patti doesn't cheat."

"What's this for?" asked Soul again, not getting an explanation the first time. He was ignored once again.

"Kid, I will allow you to stand next to me and observe my godly face to make sure I don't cheat. AS IF A BIG GUY LIKE ME WOULD NEED TO CHEAT ANYWAY! HAHAHA!"

The teenage Shinigami sighed softly. "Black Star, did it ever occur to you that Soul might cheat for you – as you are, indeed, friends – and say that Patti cheated when she actually didn't?"

"Why would I cheat?"

"PFFT! I DON'T NEED HELP IN SOMETHING AS PETTY AS THIS! I CAN WIN WITHOUT CHEATING!"

"And what makes you think I won't cheat?"

"…Fine. Soul, you make sure I don't cheat. Kid, you make sure Patti doesn't cheat. Just switch places."

Skeptically, Soul did, even though he still had no clue what he was supposed to be judge or witness of. Was it really too much to ask for a simple explanation?

Maka watched as Black Star and Patti began staring at each other intensely.

"What's going on?" the pig-tailed meister asked Liz, for some reason feeling an odd urge to whisper. She felt like she was in class, and talking loudly just felt wrong.

The older gun weapon sighed. "Patti asked me some time ago why people blink. I tried explaining it to her but apparently the thought stuck in her head. She's been practicing so much that now she can go extremely long periods of time without blinking. Patti heard that Black Star had the same… skill and decided to see if she could beat him. And now, here we are."

"So it's a blinking contest?" Maka asked, she herself blinking.

"Black Star, you STILL haven't told me what I'm supposed to be watching out for!"

"Make sure I don't blink, Soul! _Duh_!"

Maka sweat dropped. These guys are hopeless.


	4. Black Dreams

39/100- Dreams

"Maka?" Poke. "Are you okay?"

Said technician lifted her head wearily from where it lay on her desk, using her arms as cushions.

"I'm fine," she replied with a sigh, looking into Tsubaki's concerned eyes. "I'm worried about Soul. He wasn't in the apartment when I woke up this morning. He seemed a little grumpy yesterday, so I thought maybe he left to school without me, but, well…" She glanced at his empty seat.

Tsubaki nodded understandingly. "Is that all? It looks like something else is bothering you…" she trailed off carefully, not sure how to point out that Maka looked very pale and sickly.

The pig-tailed girl was silent, contemplating her next answer. "My stomach feels strange."

"Want me to take you to the nurse?" the weapon offered.

She shook her head, lowering it once again. "I'm probably just anxious. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

Maka couldn't even begin to describe the odd sensation happening in her body. It felt unnatural and unpleasant. It made her feel queasy and vulnerable, especially since her weapon and partner was no where in sight. If she needed to fight, she'd not only be utterly defenseless, she'd be worried even more sick, wondering if something had happened to Soul and if he was okay. She felt stupid and weak.

"Black Star, have you seen Soul-kun?" Maka heard Tsubaki ask.

There was a soft creak, probably Black Star leaning back in his chair.

"No, I haven't seen him," came his surprisingly calm response. "But he's been acting weird. Don't know how he hit his head."

Maka had to raise her eyebrows at his statement. For _Black Star_ to say Soul was acting strangely, it must be bad. Maybe even worse than she thought. She had tried asking him what was wrong, but he always seemed to clam up when she brought it up.

She clutched her stomach, a pang of pain suddenly hitting her. She listened to Professor Stein drone on about something or other, trying to ignore the hurt and wondering when this class would come to an end. She only had to wait a few more (miserable) minutes before the bell announced the end of class. She stood on wobbly legs, an arm still wrapped around her middle.

Ignoring Tsubaki's pleas to let her take her to the nurse, Maka made her way out of Shibusen and onto the school's large balcony.

She leaned on the ledge heavily, running her fingers through her light bangs. Her stomach ached, and she felt sharp jabs behind her flesh.

What was going on? Did she eat something bad? That couldn't be it, though. And even if she did, she really doubted that it should be hurting this much.

She felt a light sheen of sweat form on her forehead. She didn't know what to do; the pain felt so bad that she wanted to drop to her knees and scream. She heard a loud ringing in her ears as she pressed her hands to her stomach, feeling warm liquid seep through her fingers. She felt utterly confused as to what that could be, and she wondered if it had been a bad idea to deny Tsubaki's offer to accompany her to the nurse's office.

All thoughts left her however, when she looked down at her middle and saw red, so much red staining her hands, staining her shirt, her legs, the ground. It felt like it was everywhere.

Her terror grew and a bloodcurdling scream bubbled up in her throat as she saw a hand claw out of her abdomen, panicked and flailing, looking for support, and coated in slick blood.

Her heart, beating loudly and quickly, drowned out her scream. She watched as the hand quickly turned into an arm, leading to the shoulder as more and more of a person's body came out of her own.

She felt like puking, and she didn't know what to do. She was scared and confused and alone and in _pain_.

Her vision fogged and she distantly realized she had started crying, her sobs only growing harder as she recognized the person tearing her body in half.

She panted for air, her lungs failing her at the time she needed them the most. She watched Soul carefully, taking in his terrified face, his wide eyes filled with absolute horror and the way his mouth opened large in a loud scream. His fingers where covered with blood- her blood.

Her vision began to darken at the edges before it all went completely black.

x.X.x

_A/N- Hey, guys. Another update. ^^ In case I didn't make myself very clear, this is Maka's point of view of Soul's dream. Hehe. Anyway, I'll have the next update by tomorrow. :3  
Hope you enjoyed! Please review! 8D  
_**Disclaimer- don't own.**


	5. Foolish Confessions

_A/N- Hey, guys. Another chapter today, just like I said yesterday! 8D I don't have much to say, so I'll just let you read. :3 Please enjoy and review!! X3_

**Disclaimer- I'm too tired to come up with a witty way of saying I don't own Soul Eater.**

84/100- Out cold.

Soul kicked the door to their apartment open, wincing when it banged loudly against the wall. He shuffled in sideways, being careful to not bump Maka's head or legs on the doorframe.

"I told you you shouldn't push yourself," he mumbled moodily. She gripped his sweater tighter, her face digging into his chest. "You know, you should listen to me when I tell you we've been training for too long. Collapsing out of pure exhaustion on me is not cool."

This time, he opened the door to her room gently, making sure to not jostle the tired girl in his arms too much. He lay her on her bed, proceeding to take off her shoes and gloves. He went to get extra blankets for her because it was freaking freezing outside and she had spent so much time out there, pushing herself until it got to the point where she simply couldn't go any further and fainted.

He had freaked out when she fell to the ground. His mind had already been racing through all the different scenarios as he called out her name urgently; the hospital was too far from where they were training so he'd have to take her to Stein's place. As creepy as the other man was, he was still their teacher and a good doctor. When he reached her side, however, he realized that she wasn't actually hurt or anything- just way past tired.

He lay the blankets over her, worriedly taking note of how she was shivering. Her eyes were squeezed shut which made him wonder if she was in pain. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought she was already asleep (although, he had no doubt she was practically already drifting off into her dreamworld.)

"Idiot," he whispered, ruffling her hair fondly.

She blinked her eyes open, cracking up a weak smile. "I'm sorry, Soul."

He shook his head, kneeling next to her bed. "Don't apologize. Just listen to me when I talk to you. You scared me, Maka," he finished grimly.

"I just want to get stronger for you. I want to be there for you and I want you to know that because sometimes it feels like you don't. It's just that it feels like something's been bothering you lately but you won't tell me. What's wrong?"

Soul stiffened, not sure what to do when he felt her small hand thread through his hair. He waited until the hand returned to Maka's side to take a deep breath. He was silent for a while, trying to figure out how to string his worries into sentences. He looked at anything but her.

"Well, there is something that's bothering me… It's stupid. I mean – It's just – augh…" he groaned, running his own fingers through his hair.

"There's… someone," he finally spat out. He didn't wait for her to respond, too afraid that if he did he would lose his courage and not want to tell her anymore.

"Yeah, a girl. Obviously. She's loud, short-tempered, irrational when she feels she needs to be, and she likes to hit people. She's also… pretty. And smart. And strong. And… brave." Soul sighed, getting lost in thoughts of her. "She's loyal to her friends and cares about them with her entire heart of gold. She's a good fighter but is also a book worm. She has light hair that she brushes into a silly, little-kid hairstyle; she has sparkling eyes that shine when she feels she has done something good. She has the cutest smile, and my heart melts just hearing her laugh.

"Being with her makes me feel appreciated and useful… and stupid. And it gives me a lot of headaches too, when I say something particularly bad. But those are all quirks of her personality that make her _her_, and I just couldn't live without them.

"She's just wonderful and… I think… I might… love her. And she's…" he trailed off, risking a peek at her. What he saw, however, mad his mind screech to a halt.

"…you," he finished dumbly.

Soul took in her peaceful face, green eyes gone unseen behind her eyelids, her evened-out breathing, and the way her lips parted slightly.

He furrowed his eyebrows, pursing his lips. "Didn't I just finish telling you that you should listen to me when I'm talking to you?"

The one time that he had finally gathered enough courage to confess his feeling (and spill them out to her in a gooey, romantic, very uncool way!), she falls asleep, she is out like a light, she's out cold, she's dead to the world, however you want to phrase it. The point was: she didn't hear a single word he had said.

Maybe it was for the better. He didn't want to skewer their relationship (not that they had one to begin with) by telling her how he felt. He'd rather stay close to her and simply be her friend than for it to be awkward between them after he professed his love to her.

Sighing, he couldn't help but smile though, because as annoying and frustrating as the situation was, it seemed just like something Maka would do: fall asleep when he had something important to say.

"Good night, Maka," he said even though Soul knew she wouldn't hear him. He stood up and left her room, shutting off the lights and closing the door behind him softly.

*THE NEXT DAY*

Maka unsurprisingly woke up later than Soul, considering how very tired she had been yesterday.

She looked strangely sloppy, her hair drooping slightly and her clothes out of place and rumpled. She walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, Soul," she greeted, yawning.

Soul smirked and poured cereal into a bowl. "Hey."

Maka plopped into her seat, watching as her partner poured milk into his cereal and sat on the seat across from her.

"You know," she said conversationally. "I had a really weird dream last night."

"Oh, yeah? What was it?"

"I dreamt that you confessed your love to m- Are you okay!?"

Soul sputtered and choked on his mouthful of cereal. He thumped his fist against his chest, trying to clear his airway. "Yeah-" _Cough_. "-I'm fine."

She looked at him skeptically. "Ok… What a crazy dream, right?"

"Yeah. Crazy."

Soul sighed.


	6. Dear Maka

_A/N- BY GOLLY. (lol) I WONDER HOW LONG I CAN KEEP UP THE DAY-TO-DAY UPDATES! I'M LOVING THEM! X3_

_I hope you guys are enjoying them too. The number of hits say you do, but what about the number of reviews? ;D_

_Read, enjoy, and review!! x3_

80/100- Words.

_Dear Maka,_

_Your eyes remind me of jewels glittering against the sun. Your hair is soft and beautiful and reminds me of the soft fur of a lion. When I__'m around you I feel like my cold hea-_

No. No. Just- _no_. That did not sound like him at all. It made him sound fake, gay, and not cool. He groaned in frustration, crumpling up the paper. Alright. Try again.

_Dear Maka, _

_Even though you're as flat as a board_

Soul let his head drop against his desk, wincing at the sharp pain. Definitely not. Maka would slap him before she even finished reading the sentence, much less the letter!

"Dammit," he muttered, throwing the letter onto the ever-growing pile of paper in his trash can. Love letters really just weren't his strong fort. It's not like he'd ever actually written one and all the ones he saw in the movies or books Maka forced him to watch/read are just way too cheesy.

With a sigh, he picked up his pen again.

_Dear Maka,_

_This is stupid. Why would someone write a love letter if they could just as easily say the same thing in person? Why the hell am _I _writing a letter!?_

"Geez." This really IS stupid. He took out a new, clean sheet of paper, staring at the crisp, blue, straight lines that would be the death of him if he didn't start marking the paper with ink. Biting his pen, he thought… and thought… and thought…

"This isn't working OUT!" he yelled, getting extremely agitated. Why must these things be so complicated?!

Were it up to him, he wouldn't be writing this stinking letter to begin with! Although, Blaire had told him that girls love these kinds of gooey, fooey romantic crap. Considering how Maka already loved reading to begin with, he thought that writing this might actually be a good idea…

…until he actually started writing the letter, that is.

He scratched out what he had written once again, very upset with the outcome.

If words didn't magically appear on the blank paper before him, something very bad was going to happen. He knew because _he_ was the one that was going to make it happen.

Damn it all. This was so not cool.

To express his feelings at all was not his thing; being subtle, making the other person read in-between the lines was what he did. It just came natural to him that way. He never expressed things outright, mostly because he himself had no idea what he was babbling about and needed time to sort himself out before he could even begin explaining what he meant. But now he was expected to not only say what he felt directly, but _write it down on a piece of paper!?_

Not. Cool.

Who came up with the concept of love letters anyway? Don't they just make everything more complicated than it has to be? Aren't things confusing enough as it is already?! He felt like his mind was going to burst with the pressure!

He hoped that whomever it was that came up with that insane idea died alone and miserable while waiting for a response in the mail.

He huffed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Why was this so difficult!? Maka and he had fought countless of people before, demons, cats pretending to be witches, and much scarier things.

Then how come this was much more frightening? Love? What _is_ that?

Honestly, no one really knows. That's why most people fear it; there is not concrete answer; no right or wrong; no facts in love. It's an unknown thing, which is why it's so unpredictable and heartbreaking and scary and fascinating and addicting.

Great. Now he was getting all philosophical. First falling in love to begin with, then getting all flustered over it, and then after that actually writing a letter about it!? What's next? He might as well put on a dress, apply make-up, and go make out with Kid.

Ew. _Ew_. On second thought, that's disgusting. Maybe he really _was_ going mad.

He jumped out of his thoughts as he heard the front door open. He stood up determinedly, storming out of his room and deliberately keeping his eyes away from the overflow of his trash can.

"I'm back! Help me with the groceries?" Maka asked, holding the door open awkwardly with her long leg. She struggled a bit with the paper bags she was carrying, throwing a smile in Soul's direction.

Without a word, Soul marched up to her calmly, grabbed her shoulders, and planted his lips on hers.

He heard a soft thump and the crinkle of paper as she dropped the grocery bags, and he felt very pleased with himself as she responded to him (which was way better than dying while waiting for a reply in the mail), melting into his kiss.

Being a more hands-on type of guy, Soul realized that sometimes, words just don't do the job justice.


End file.
